Swift Playgrounds
Review

Swift Playgrounds (2016) (iPad and Mac) is a game where you learn to code. Three characters, Byte, Blu, and Hopper take young coders through the steps of making a game. Unlike other coding games, Swift Playgrounds includes modular lessons from a wide variety of sources, and has a growing library of content.

Play involves making changes in the games so they function in the way you want. You help characters achieve simple goals not by pressing buttons and fast reactions but by working with coding instructions. This starts simply and gradually gets more complex.

As challenges become more difficult you are introduced to more complex features like Apple's Bluetooth and Augmented Reality development platform. The experience is substantially extended by being able to download third-party lessons by the subscription feature.

These include lessons that enable you to create games that control robots (such as Lego Mindstorms EV3 and Sphero educational toys) and drones (such as the Parrot).

The app is complemented by free resources for primary schools. These activity guides, Everyone Can Code Early Learners extends the coding curriculum resources from kindergarten to college.

Educators can also try Apple’s new one-hour Inclusive App Design activity to introduce students to the world of coding and app development with inclusion and accessibility in mind. The app design process helps students identify problems they care about, and then plan, prototype, and code creative solutions. The Inclusive App Design activity is available now for free in the Apple Teacher Learning Centre.

Apple also offers coding classes using Swift Playgrounds at Apple Stores.

Our examiner, Andy Robertson, first checked Swift Playgrounds 2 years ago. It was re-examined by Jo Robertson and updated 18 months ago.